Tony Birch

And although I'd been brought up Catholic in Fitzroy, and in fact, I was an older boy, I think that they were possessed by the notion that they could save me by physically cleansing me and spiritually cleansing me.

And I don't think for them, as odd as it seems, burning my clothes and

had my teeth removed, I think that's part of the act of social hygiene, which, yeah, which related to issues like eugenics.

And I don't want to get into discussions, but strict eugenics being about biological control, but what is called social eugenics is to use social welfare measures and forms of cleanliness to uplift people.

I think they would have seen me as diseased

I think they would have seen me as tainted.

And when you think about the clothing and the hair, they probably wanted to cut my hair.

I may have had knits or fleas at the time.

I don't know.

We often did.

We couldn't escape that reality, living in crowded houses.

I think burning the clothes would be an act of destroying any germs.

So I think it was trying to cleanse me of germs, to be literally honest about it.

Have you ever been back to that house in Rosanna?

I have been back to the house in Rosanna.

In fact, I never forgot the address.

So I was only five years of age.

If anyone ever says to me, do you remember where it was?

I remembered the address.

I remembered the house.